The present invention generally relates to a toy assembly kit and, more particularly, to a multi-component toy construction kit having a plurality of structural components which are readily and releasably connectable to other structural components.
It has been proposed to form one structural component of a toy assembly kit as a building block, and another structural component as a support plate. A male coupling portion or stud extends outwardly from the block and is slidingly received in a female coupling portion or groove formed in the support plate. The kit may include a plurality of such blocks each having a plurality of studs, as well as a plurality of such plates each having a plurality of such grooves.
In order to mount building blocks on either side of a respective plate, the groove extends to both opposite major surfaces of the plate. The inner contour of the groove is dimensioned to receive two male studs simultaneously. That is, a male stud of one block is received in one section of the groove adjacent one major surface of the plate, and another male stud of another block is simultaneously received in another adjacent section of the groove adjacent the opposite major surface of the plate. The composite configuration of this groove is generally square-shaped.
If the stud is of undercut configuration, then each section of the groove must also be of compatible undercut configuration. In this case, the composite configuration of the groove can be characterized as generally hexagonally-shaped.
In either event, the support plate must have a thickness which corresponds to twice the predetermined length of a single stud in order to accommodate two studs at the same time. It is desirable to save as much material in the manufacture of this support plate as is possible without adversely affecting the characteristics and performance thereof. Furthermore, if less material is used, the support plate will be of lighter weight.